Domain of Orcus

Category: Reviews

  • Retrospective: Metal

    By: Manilla Road

    Original Date: August 16, 1982

    Format used: CD

    Rating: 3.5/10

    Compared to the clearly more experimental Invasion, Manilla Road’s sophmore release Metal features a few standout tracks that contain the seed of greatness that we see fully realized on their next album. But we will get to that in due time. Overall, Metal is much more grounded in hard rock orthodoxy than the last release, and as a result, plays it safe musically. That is the bane of this album. There are some fantastic tracks that passionately capture the spirit of the age and tap into the most creative veins of Metal songwriting creativity. The title track, and the ethereal and genuinely imposing “Cage of Mirrors” come to mind. From these two tracks we see most of the innovation this album has to offer. Aside from that, we have fairly standard, if unusually heavy hitting hard rock riffing with some metallic ferocity sometimes coming in. The drumming here is also what NeoSpeed tryhards wish they could capture. If you listen to the songs you’ll know exactly what I mean. And I think it has to do with Manilla Road getting a new drummer at the time of this album’s release. We also see proof that Shelton and company are refining their craft because there is another version of “the Far Side of the Sun” on this release that actually feels more polished and properly edited. This album is still in that period of growing the beard musically. There’s an awkward growth, its long and scraggly and while there’s substance it has yet to become a well oiled and groomed mark of pride. Make no mistake, Manilla Road can be proud to release this album, but it is still a work of exploration in a way. And because there’s still a little bit of refinement to be done we see a lot of copybook riffs throughout the song which makes it fall just short of the caliber of Invasion.

    In terms of Manilla Road’s discography, weirdly enough, I will recommend Metal over Invasion, even if I do think Invasion is a better work overall. The reasons for this fairly nuanced, but I believe that since there is already a rerecorded version of one of the more ambitious songs off their last release, and since we get more into the heavy hitting sound that Manilla Road will deliver in the future, this album won’t be as jarring to fans listening to them. If listeners start with this album and skip invasion, you do still get a full picture of musical evolution since that early installment awkwardness is there, but it is a better taste for what the band arguably should sound like and doesn’t have the experimental deflection for more picky listeners. Like Invasion before it, Metal shows Manilla Road’s early hard rock sensibilities and inklings of that more clearly definied heavy metal sound they will become known for later. It is slightly more generic feeling, but its moments of excellence make the filler worth it. And though it has filler – I prefer Jambalaya over some generic fluff that could have been stuffed in the Turkey just for the sake of it. And the “filler” on Metal is the same tasty regional treat as a family recipe for Jambalaya.

  • Crimson Desert

    By: Pearl Abyss

    Genre: Action RPG

    Release Date: March 19, 2026

    Platform Used: Windows/Steam Deck

    Rating 4/5

    This game was a disappointment. Not because it was bad, or somehow lacking – but because I had the hammer of Orcus ready to bring dawn upon this game for all its claims leading up to release. M1 compatibility? Ambigious. Steam says no, the game initially said it would be compatible, and the game was unplayable on M1 mac despite the app store claiming it is supported. Switch 2 compatibility? Was teased, announced, and then quietly swept under the rug without consequence. And hey – game respect game. I once ended an entire plane of the multiverse out of petty spite for a lost game of oathbreaker (and in case readers are wondering – Orcus the Vile’s signature spell is murder). Returning to the actual game though, I cannot remain angry at them because once I installed the game on a suitable device, it worked like a dream.

    The gameplay is fun, robust, and easy to pick up. Unlike a lot of ARPGs this game does not punish you for not dodging or not parrying, and you are not dependent on and increasingly spiking learning curve to survive. Perhaps this was a conscious decision to offset the lack of difficulty levels. Who knows? One thing the gameplay lacks that is now offered by many next generation triple A roleplaying games, is that freedom and emergent gameplay that is increasingly trickling down from the realm of immersive sims. Its not hugely important, but it would be fun to have the option to throw the badger you just killed off a cliff. It would also be nice to do something like take the pebble you just picked up and throw it at an NPC. That’s the other thing – NPCs really can’t be killed or threatened unless you have the specific item that lets you do something other than greet them (more on that later). It would probably be a nightmare to code, but once more, the expectation for games of this caliber is usually a degree of interaction with the environment beyond greeting.

    Masks or face coverings make a bunch of fun options open up, like stealing or threatening NPCs. It really allows for more varied gameplay, and I like the touch of you having to don a mask to actually conduct crimes. What I don’t like however, is how we have the option to steal earlier without it ever being explained why you cannot steal a box when the option is right there visible on my screen. Orcus the Vile is a notorious looter, eighty percent of the Templars’ treasure came through my direct despoiling – when I am offered the option to steal, I do not expect to be turned down. Though I do suppose there is a certain demographic that has grown tired of increasingly obvious tutorials and this game is meant to appease them in that way. There is definitely a lot of exploration in this game and its refreshing learning about the world one animal at a time and needing to experiment a little to find out how stuff works.

    The story and worldbuilding definitely go above and beyond what you normally get with big games nowadays. I appreciate that there is an ongoing mystery and you continuously learn about the world and its hidden secrets as you go. And having the tease of something just beyond what you have already seen is something I haven’t seen much outside flat-out mystery games. There is a sense of wonder and amazement in this game and I feel like it was captured perfectly not just in-game but also through the loading screens and the subtle orchestral music. It can be said however, that the designers had the advantage of working with a preexisting world when they came up with the game. My understanding is this game is set as a prequel for Black Desert, an MMO also by pearl abyss (if there were trolls in that too I would jump at it).

    The graphics is a huge selling point, and I don’t know when the graphics became such an important category to choosing the games we do but make no mistake – if your graphics card supports this game it does look beautiful – but I’d say its worth it even without the graphics. Heed me carefully, as Orcus the Vile is not a soft man, and will not speak thusly again soon: it doesn’t matter if this game looks pretty or not – Orcus enjoyed it on the unimpressive looking graphics the steam deck presented, and he enjoyed it on the only slightly more impressive computer screen (which reminds me I need to send forth a winged abomination to acquire me a new graphics card sometime). If you’re here for the graphics its here, but you’ll enjoy it without it.

    Crimson Desert was marketed as an open world game. And it certainly does deliver on that selling point. There’s lots of exploration and you definitely don’t feel railroaded while playing. The fact that you can collect creatures and learn more about them as you go, and the journal entries with lore about almost everything in game helps incentivize the exploration that is so integral to the open world element.

    Orcus the Vile has now stowed away the hammer of dawn – Crimson Desert is a game to be spared from petty vendettas and wrath. It was fun getting into the game, and I will continue to enjoy what it has to offer. For the sake of avoiding spoilers we have only scratched the surface, but once I complete this game there will probably be a retrospective coming on it. I recommend this game to anybody who have considered checking it out. It will sink a lot of your time in the way only a really good and immersive game can.

  • Retrospective: Invasion

    By: Manilla Road

    Original Date: March 20th, 1980

    Format used: CD

    Rating: 4/5

    Manilla Road’s debut suffers from a feeling of freshman awkwardness. The beard is patchy, the lunch is spilled in the cafeteria, the whole shebang. But nobody can deny the swaggering and confident lad is phony. And he has passion and a realness that is endearing.

    That is the essence of Invasion. The biggest problem, if it can be called that, is Manilla Road are still refining their craft. This album is jam heavy – with lots of guitar tricks – if you didn’t tell me no keyboards were used except on the intro of “street jammer”, I would assume that a lot of the ambient wailing was done through synths. And while there’s good control of the nascent guitar sounds, we do see Manilla Road somewhat struggling to find their sound. There’s a lot of space rock, lots of what would otherwise be be called doom fuzz, and a healthy dose of hard rock. This album can be called straight up rock as much as it can be called Metal at this point in Manilla Road’s career. And that is part of the charm, the ambition and the journey to accomplish it.

    This album will not be for everyone, it is too foot deep in 70s convention, and basement-jam experimentation, the lyrics are a little hit or miss too – but if you can forgive that – Invasion is a solid listen that gives us insights into what is to come from Manilla Road. I would recommend this album moreso for the fans who want to hear the full sonic history of Manilla Road as well as for fans of straight up old timey rock.

  • The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari

    Original Year of Release: 1920

    Genre: Horror/German Expressionism

    Rating: 4/5

    The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari is a film whose impact is felt more than it is known. Tim Burton loves himself these jagged angles and his fairground imagery. Cesare is the vogue look for the artsier goth kids, as well as for one of my best assassins – Brother Strangler. Now that I think about it, Brother Strangler does like his clove cigarettes and is impartial to the Cure too.

    Incidental music for this specific streaming edition of the movie was odd, seemed suspiciously electronic, almost like they were playing to the audience by including a darkwave sounding ambient track and looping it. But without going down a rabbit hole, we can assume that maybe the incidental music of the original is lost media and throw them a bone. Because Orcus is not interested in the musical equivalent of some namby pamby goblin tiptoeing through the night before the movie shows a scrawny European straight out of his campus studio pull a sadistic expression as he strangles a kewpie doll looking girl in white in a portrait of sublime human tragedy – he is there to see the portrait in all its morbid decadence. And this movie does have stunning visuals. While the sets look cheap by today’s standards, the unearthly angles and matte paintings they have in the background is true art. And as far as art cinema goes, the story is good, and even just reading the words and following it visually, you jump and chuckle in glee at the sordid violence, and the twists and turns go like a knife in the gut. And do you know how thick Orcus the Vile’s stomach is? There are those who called him Orcus Ironguts for surviving no less than three poisoning attempts in one month while reigning as Warlord in the hinterlands of Bulgar.

    It goes to show you what timeless storytelling can do. Even the characters have distinct motivations, and the film plays well off the manias of Franzis as he tries to expose Caligari, as well as the Doctor himself. One qualm Orcus has with characters are we don’t know as much about the motivations of Dr. Caligari. I understand the desire to keep him a mystery and let his mystique make him more memorable and deadly, but we need to know more about his motivations. To be fair, it doesn’t make the movie lesser, but it would do additional good to the film.

    And that is the Cabinet of Dr. Caligari. If modern assembly line cinema is slop to the through this is the sinful fondue of forbidden tastes and experimental cuisine. It is the antithesis of what film became later, and like its peer Nosferatu, has had a monumental cultural legacy that endures to this day.

    Orcus hears there is a remake. Perhaps it is time to muster my Legions and set them on the warpath again so we may see if there is finally a remake that allows us to claim that we “revisited an old classic” without lying through our teeth.

  • Enslaved & Storm Weather Shanty Choir

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    By: Enslaved and Storm Weather Shanty Choir

    Date: March 27, 2026

    Format used: Digital

    Rating 4/5

    Enslaved has ceased to be the black metal beast it once was for a very long time. With an increasing amount of folk influence in their once more progressive music, it comes as no surprise that Enslaved would embrace one of the most authentic Norwegian folk adjacent outfits out there.

    Storm Weather Shanty Choir strikes me as among the initiated, after all, they have the sense to describe themselves in their spotify bio as “rockers” singing Shanties as opposed to aligning themselves outright with Metal. Their dark, slightly somber shanties are spiritually aligned with the music of Enslaved.

    What we have is a creative and innovative collab, with the first track receiving the stamp of Enslaved and being transformed from both its original format and from the typical music as Enslaved while not going too far off the mark. In short, the essence of “natural progression”. The second track is more clearly the work of the Storm Weather Shanty Choir but there are some musical nodes that bleed Enslaved. Both of the tracks are so unique I guarantee you if you compared them to every other cover of Fire Morengo and Anna Lovinda, you would be able to pick these out in a crowd. And that is what makes a good cover, this imprinting with your own musical stamp.

    If Enslaved continues dropping a single every year or so, and deliver this caliber of song consistently, I for one am okay with that sort of output. Because this content is familiar enough not to be jarring, and new enough to not to be alienating. And the two artists coming together is the collaboration nobody knew they wanted, and I’m sure now that the waters have been braved – we will, in fact, be wanting more.

    I would recommend this song to fans of any sort of folk music, as well as fans of Enslaved and Storm Weather Shanty choir. This isn’t a release that has a niche in the existing audience.

  • Virtua Fighter 5 R.E.V.O.

    By: SEGA

    Genre: Fighter

    Release Date: March 26, 2026

    Platform Used: Nintendo Switch 2

    Rating: 2.5/5

    Boy I love the Nintendo Swtich 2. It reminds me of a charming console that had just as few games but was not as well-endowed with hardware. I am of course, speaking of the Atari Lynx. The Lynx however, had the advantage that it was getting what was, at the time, triple A games released for it at launch. Aside from two or three exclusives, the Nintendo Switch 2 has exactly zero triple A games released for it at their original release, one was cancelled, but Crimson Desert will be subjucted to the wrath of Orcus in due course. All the other major games released at the time of their release are in fact for the switch and not its successor.

    Yes, aside from having very few games available for it on release (where is the next Madden Nintendo?), and being treated to “games” in the form of $5 upgrades for games that are already compatible with it, we now come to the point where we are getting ports of remasters of updates a year late two. Does that sound overly specific and verbose? Well Street Fighter 5 R.E.V.O is an update for a remaster that has been out for a while on other consoles, and is now being ported to switch a year late. And this comes less than a month after we got a FREE update that renders those $5 updates inconsequential.

    Now I, Orcus the Vile, like Nintendo – know my audience. Sometimes I find an unspoiled village in the Carpathian mountains where they still sacrifice roosters once a year to protect their sheep from wolves. When this happens, I rub my shovel-like hands together in glee. I then send my chief proselytizer, Brother Paganizer, to go seed the old ways there. Unlike the Paganizer, Nintendo saw Street Fighter 6 had an audience and said unto themselves: “let’s get another fighting game here. And what better game than Virtua Fighter? Yakuza 2 had a full working arcade version of it, so lets charge our consumers 60+ dollars for it.” I will be honest here: As a wight that has not seen the inference of a conference room (that is the word young people use for council chambers now I’m told) since before the Great War – I may be a little out of touch. But even I know that if Nintendo released more games, they would probably know more about their playerbase. It does feel a little like they assume because street fighter was successful, and because smash bros was successful in the past, Virtua Fighter R.E.V.O would be a smash hit. However, Orcus the Vile is not a prognosticator, and I will give them the benefit of the doubt.

    I am a staunch follower of the old ways. Turkey legs, wenches, and feats of strength were they back in the old days. In my boyhood there were none who could beat Orcus the Vile in good old rambunctious wrestling. And now, being long in the tusk, and ashen of beard – I like to live vicariously through fighting games. I am told Zangief bears a remarkable resemblance to me when I took up the cross of Templar in the 12th century. Dark Stalkers, Tekken, Soul Calibur, Mortal Kombat, I’ve done them all. But Virtua Fighter never struck me as the cream of the crop. But as I have said: benefit of the doubt. What is this game they offered up unto us?

    Honestly, not a bad game. We didn’t get some slapped together, half-forgotten port for the sake of it. We got a well-programmed, responsive, easy to learn fighter that is cleverly geared towards and optimized for online multiplayer. I have my doubts the online multiplayer will thrive, and it remains to see how long it endures, but the potential is there.

    The graphics are beautiful, and unlike some other next gen fighting games, it doesn’t just look like unity slop. The graphics would be incredible if there wasn’t a distinct dip in quality as the game goes from cutscene to combat. Hair looks awkward, and the realism of the sand is more photo realistic than the fighters themselves. There’s some potential here, but it remains hidden unfortunately. Controls are different from the usual Street Fighter style layout, it is easy to learn, and rewards experimentation. And I like those games that have controls that are quick to learn through built-in reinforcement.

    The game’s difficulty does spike incredibly fast in arcade mode, Almost disproportionately so. If there is a problem with the singleplayer, it’s how quickly you need to hike those controls you just learned and were adapting to. This game will not hold your hand.

    Another problem is the story. If there is one – they hide it really well. That being said, usually with a fighting game the story is thinner than an anorexic tapeworm. What can I say? You don’t expect hamlet from a fighting game. And I know you can probably read the story to Virtua Fighter 5 somewhere, but a manual is not a substitute for a plot.

    So that’s virtua fighter 5, an average but enjoyable fighting game. Was it worth porting? Probably, but there are other games that would be fun too. Try it out if you have the cash (and a Nintendo Switch 2, I’m told they do in fact appear outside Japan) but don’t expect the next smash bros.

  • Haneda

    By: Cruel Force

    Date: March 27, 2026

    Format used: Digital

    Rating: 2/5

    Readers who have read my last review will know my opinion on the tendency to make imaginary EPs to justify playing the algorithm. But honestly, if Cruel Force picked the right songs, the EP would have been better than this album. Does that sound harsh? Let me explain.

    So called “New Wav of Traditional Heavy Metal” bands have an unfortunate tendency to play derivative music. Not always, but the tendency is there. And of course it is, while NWOBHM was innovation that arguably saved the floundering and ill-defined Metal microgenre, NWOTHM are the younger imitators of “Old School Metal”. Orcus may upset some people with this, but creative, competent bands like Grand Magus should not be listed on the Wikipedia article for NWOTHM because they predate the proper dating for the movement, and play a sound closer to Doom than “True” traditional heavy metal would be. Orcus the Vile likes creativity and has been put off by the generic high speed arpeggios and glorified picking exercises of the neo-speed Metal bands of old.

    Cruel Force however, I like. I enjoyed their debut Rise of Satanic Might. So why, in the deeps of the seven hells is there even more generic neo-speed plodding here than on Dawn of the Axe? When a band departs from an old style, it is normal for there to be hiccups. After all, an artist needs to refine their craft. But somehow, this album is repetitive, formulaic, and mixed like the BP Oil spill (that was long ago you say? Sorry, after a few centuries, a few decades feel trifling). The bass is barely audible, and even the keyboards that is rightly reserved for ornamentation are more audible. It’s not all bad though, there are about four stand out tracks on this album that in some way break the formula or set themselves apart. Two of these songs, warlords and savage gods, were on the EP single already. If you include the other two (Sword of Iron, and Titan’s awakening) on the EP instead, you would save the listener’s time (because unfortunately, this album does drag), and focus on quality over quantity.

    Excluding the intro, we have heard half of this album already. And while this music is exciting has some mindless beats you can mosh and headbang to, it lacks substance. And let me address anybody who defends this album as an underrated gem, because I have seen the fans of Cruel Force around: the head banging is fun, but when is the next time this album will be your first choice to listen to for pleasure unrelated to the activity that accompanies it? And when will it be your second choice? Now when what are the odds you will listen to it again in its entirety when not in a playlist or a comp?

    Honesty hurts, and with that let me give some more positives. Aside from being decent party music, the lyrics have more ambition than they have any right being. A lot of it actually hits home. I will be shouting some of these songs in the shower if the mood strikes me. And as long as something sticks, I say embrace it.

    This album is for the party crowd and for the people who ride or die by the new wave of traditional heavy metal. It’s an ambitious release, and if you can be bothered to listen for 42 minutes and just want some blazing riffs to unwind to, this album will be for you.

  • Awesome Anthems of the Galaxy

    By: Iron Savior

    Date: March 27, 2026

    Format used: Digital

    Rating: 2/5

    Iron Savior has not been on my radar until very recently. Their science fiction concept albums and intense vein of Power Metal helps set them apart from the more watery europower that is so common throughout the continent. It makes sense, Iron Savior is from the old guard of European Power Metal, back when the sound still packed a decent bodyshot with minimal wind-up. But this cover album, even to an outsider, will seem a little out of place coming from a Metal band. And that may be true, but Iron Savior began as a cover band in a high school talent contest, and most every release featured at least one cover. It is not the covers that are out of place here, it is rather the presence of a slurry of europop with otherwise little originality with which Iron Savior can put their stamp on it that drags this album down.

    Lets start with the positive, because this album isn’t all bad, the production is phenomenal. Piet Sielck prides himself as a producer, and we definitely see those talents here. And while the lyrics to the songs themselves are basically the catchy, if a little shallow pop you would expect, Piet does deliver them with conviction and passion. If it were not for the delivery Orcus’s whiskered snout may pick up the distinct stench of greed and deceit. And take it from Orcus the Vile, you would need an act of sorcery to determine if this album is selling-out, and unfortunately it is not worth the material cost to do so (besides, where would I find a piece of quartz with a preserved optic nerve within it on such short notice?).

    What you do not need sorcery to read is the omens here. And there are a few even to the untrained eye. Consider – there official discography of Iron Savior lists their most recent single as just one song – but with all four singles released, their most recent single is actually labelled as an EP. And that is the giveaway. Only the more aware bands bother calling their combined, streaming optimized singles EPs because they recognize 4 tracks is technically an EP and not a single. And even fewer bands have the sense to actually release their last single as an official EP to distract from the fact that they are playing the algorithm on spotify like some common garage rapper.

    Does Orcus sound elitist? Well I should not be sounding elitist. An elitist would refuse to behead his enemies without a two-body katana from the Edo period. Orcus the Vile only uses halberds looted from the bodies of European palace guards – he is not elitist, he merely has standards. Playing the algorithm, for example, is a standard the trendies hold themselves too. But the imaginary releases is but the first omen.

    The bigger problem here is the cassette on the cover. Though it does make sense in a clever sort of way in that it is a mix that flies through space in Iron Savior’s little realm – are these tracks really the prime mix on a fictional earth where Metal is the force of nature? Does pop rule the airwaves in this Metal fantasy world? These are the questions we have to address if its taken with any seriousness fictionally, if not, it feels like Iron Savior is trying to reach new audiences with their banner of europop, and maybe even land a production deal with the artists that were so conveniently added in the metadata on spotify. However, giving the artists credit is the right thing to do, and Orcus does not want to be overly cynical.


    Orcus is not overly familiar with the source work but there is a more than ninety percent chance that this release is too Metal for the pop crowd, and it is too poppy for all but the most devoted of Iron Savior’s fanbase. I hope to be doing a retrospective for Iron Savior’s early albums at some point as they are what inspired Orcus the Vile to go into space, with – mixed – results (lets just say the silicon valley engineers who “volunteered” to work at a deregulated compound ceased microdosing). Overall, since this album is as nonthreatening and accessible as they get I would heartily recommend it to the uninitiated. The music is a good compilation that showcases the musical talents of Iron Savior’s creative talent. For everybody else – stay tuned, we will revisit the Atlantean Warmachine soon enough.

  • The Crawl

    By: Temple of Void

    Date: March 6, 2026

    Format used: digital

    Rating: 3/5

    With an ominous atmosphere and creeping dread, The Crawl is perhaps the most appropriate title for this album. With one small exception though. Another worthy title would have been The Climb, because ToV sure do like their Phrygian mode. And if there is one thing on this release that can be called formulaic, it’s this Phrygian ladder in the solos that keeps popping up.

    Orcus the Vile himself is not a fan of the sound, When last such an oriental lick repeated this much in under the span of an hour, I was paraded around the court of a sultan as a freak from the armies of Christendom. And Orcus the Vile is not an animal – the snout and tusks are genetic!

    Personal gripes aside, the atmosphere definitely has a good feel. As hinted to in the start of this review, there definitely is a feeling of dread permeating the album. Expect there to be heavy riffs and echoing snarls as on many previous Temple of Void releases. There is more emphasis on death metal this time around, and I think it is a stretch to describe this as a Doom album musically, Slowing down music and adding fuzz does not Doom Metal make, the same as if Orcus fries chicken dry over a fire he does not suddenly have beef jerky – no matter what his acolytes say (Orcus the Vile has a high brow, not a sloping brow)!

    Returning to the music, there is a decently heavy wall of sound, which augments the dark lyrical subject matter. The lyrics are once again bleak, and come in two categories: fantasy like “the crawl” or “poison mountain”, and personal struggles like “godless cynic”. There is a good spread of themes and influences in the lyrics and music respectively, and the album, even if formulaic at times – competently does what it sets out to do. I would recommend the Crawl as a better album to get into than Summoning the Slayer, but Orcus the Vile encourages listening to their debut first.

  • Retrospective: Sacred Metal

    By: Doomsword

    Original year of release: 1997

    Version: Post-Mortem Apocalypse 12 inch vinyl 33.5rpm

    Rating: 3.5/5

    Ah yes Doomsword, one of the standard bearers of a certain vein of Doom Metal that crosses over into traditional heavy metal so potently that Manowar’s definition of True Metal seems outmoded. Other bands like Grand Magus that arguably also play this bottom-heavy vein of Heavy Metal do not cross over as effectively into Doom Metal as our Italian friends Doomsword. Although on this demo, they stay staunchly the ranks of Bathory and Manowar’s legions of followers, which was uncommon in an era where Rhapsody was all the rage. Sure, there are some moments of Doom and ominous interludes that show glimpses of where this band will go in the future, but most of this is a fairly standard banner for the adherents of True Metal to flock around.

    I’m sure many who hung out amongst the Metal legions will be familiar with the obsessive history buffs who listen to Metal purely for the lyrics addressing the hyper focus they have. Sabaton’s mainstream fanboys come to mind, but there are many other bands with that sort of devotee. It may come as a surprise that Orcus the Vile initially approached Doomsword for a similar reason – but it is not because he is a history buff. Nay, Orcus enjoys the youth of today giving events from his early years the proper attention they deserve, and he finds their song Gergovia to be especially morbid. But we know they have lyrical brilliance, and they do transform the Doom they use as a foundation for their sound, so now we must address the elephant in the room. Why does this demo have only 3.5 stars?

    Let us establish firstly, this is not the record label’s fault. Though the vinyl itself was a snug fit in the machine with bits of plastic left over, the vinyl was actually converted from a demo of a cassette that was produced on a four track analog recorder. Now for you younger scions of humanity, let me explain something, in case you don’t know how cassettes work. After a while the tape begins to wear out. The sound becomes thin and feeble. The sound quality diminishes. And with only 150 copies of the original Sacred Metal demo in circulation, this leaves us with a can of worms transferring it to vinyl. I fully understand why they used vinyl, and it is a very nice collectible, but Orcus the Vile buys physical media to listen to. And at that point, a CD might be better, because the quality unfortunately sounds a lot like what you expect a demo to sound like except a little weak. Although the rawness does have a certain charm that makes the NWOBHM tendencies on the second half of the album sound all the more endearing.

    As mentioned in the intro, the album fits squarely in the ground of Manowar, Cirith Ungol, and even moments of Bathory’s Viking Metal era. We do see some moments of innovation, with a bleak and desolate atmosphere, and moments of overt doom in the intro and interlude. This atmosphere and the doom sensibilities will be the direction the band fundamentally take later, and it shows. That being said, sacred Metal has yet to find its own sound in the way the self-titled debut did later in 1999.

    Considering what we see in the booklet, Sacred Metal used to be all Medieval music for a different project, but Deathmaster and Guardian Angel rearranged it quickly to meet a production deadline. I’d say with those constraints, it came out pretty well. The biggest triumph on this demo though, the one thing that showcases the grandeur of later Doomsword music well, is the lyrics.

    Let it be known that Orcus the Vile is not opposed to holy wars, he ordered his legions on several (and they would have been successful too if our expeditionary force didn’t end up in Narnia instead due to a portal malfunction), so when he says unto the reader that he enjoys these lyrics – know Orcus does not jest. Yes, these lyrics deal with the penitence of two bards who go off to fight a holy war and meet their doom. The organization of the story is a little bit sloppy, with the timeline jumping between songs, but this isn’t Iron Savior, its young lads trying to play the music they like. And here is the ultimate virtue of this album.

    Doomsword made this album to play the kind of music they want to hear, which was the kind that was not all that popular. They played the music with conviction and passion, and their love for the old guard of Metal shows in the unstable electric storm they harnessed in a bottle. It would not be harnessed and fielded. as lightning yet, but the potential is there in the bottle. And that is what this demo is. Potential in a bottle. And even if Orcus has ears everywhere, he would prefer electricity to sparks. But sometimes sparks hit the spot.